NU practicing against Taylor Martinez replica

The man mimicking Nebraska's Taylor Martinez on Northwestern's scout team is suited perfectly for the role.

Stephen Buckley is 6-feet, 180 pounds, just a bit shorter and lighter than the real thing. The freshman ran 4.48 in the 40-yard dash as a run-first quarterback in Forney, Texas, a shade slower than Martinez's reported 4.42. Both were classified in the position of "athlete" coming out of high school.

Buckley even has a funky passing motion, with teammates joking that he holds the ball like it's a pizza pie. Martinez throws it like a shot-put.

"He's an athletic guy," Buckley said of Martinez, a redshirt junior who has topped 100 rushing yards 10 times in his career. "You have to keep your eye on him."

Buckley's goal this week is lofty: "I want to give (the defense) a better look than the one Taylor's going to give them on Saturday."

Double trouble: Northwestern has faced four dual-threat quarterbacks since the start of last season, with mixed results.

Illinois' Nathan Scheelhaase put up huge passing numbers (391 yards, three touchdowns) but rushed for just 35 yards on 20 carries. Michigan's Denard Robinson did the opposite: He lobbed three interceptions but motored for 117 yards on 25 carries. Both resulted in NU losses.

The Wildcats limited Martinez to 53 yards on 12 carries in 2011, but he had the best passing game (28 of 37, two touchdowns, no picks) of his season. Minnesota's MarQueis Gray was effective Saturday (86 yards on nine rushes; 7-for-11 passing) but got knocked out by an ankle injury. And those were NU victories.

NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said that what makes preparing for Nebraska even harder is the players around Martinez, such as tailbacks Rex Burkhead (9.1 yards per carry) and Ameer Abdullah (6.0), receiver Kenny Bell (23.2 yards per catch) and a host of tight ends.

"Weapons everywhere"," Fitzgerald said. "And (Martinez) is a true dual-threat quarterback who presents a challenge every time he touches the ball."

Field of dreams: A published report that the 2014 Nebraska-Northwestern game could take place at Wrigley Field makes little sense. For starters, the game is scheduled for Oct. 4, during baseball's postseason.

Northwestern would love to return to the North Side for a game once the brick wall behind home plate is moved to allow for a regulation football field. But officials are skeptical Wrigley will be football-ready for 2014.

If it is, Iowa (Nov. 8) and Illinois (Nov. 29) are more logical opponents, given that Northwestern does not want to surrender a guaranteed sellout at Ryan Field.